France and Italy in May

It's going to take you pretty much all day to check out of your hotel, travel from Sorrento to Venice by train, and get settled in your Venice hotel. You're going to pay for two expensive nights in Venice and only have one day there. Venice is not a good place to spend just one day, because you'll be caught up in a tourist mob most of the time. That's the sort of thing that makes travelers dislike Venice. I'd skip Venice until you have more time to devote to her.

Although I enjoyed Nice a lot last year, one could argue that it's not a particularly great place to "enjoy the culture in France", but it certainly puts you on the water. Just be prepared to hear a great deal of English and Russian spoken on the street.

Assuming you're flying to France from the US or Canada, you'll basically only have one day in Paris, because you're likely to be jetlagged and sleep-deprived after your overnight flight. That wouldn't be worth much to me. I'd fly straight to Nice to avoid the hassle of getting into Paris from the airport and to reduce the number of hotel changes.

If your goal is the South of France, I'd skip Paris completely. It's a high-powered, crowded, dynamic city and with only an exhausting arrival day and the following day, it won't be a relaxed time. Your third day will be eaten up by packing up, getting to the station, a six-hour train ride and getting settled in Nice. I'd just fly straight to Nice once you land, and enjoy the more relaxed atmosphere. Save Paris for when you can do it justice.

It's a little bit different flying to Venice at the end of your trip because you will be over jet-lag and can enjoy a day and a half in Venice. My 2-centimes.

Edit: I missed that you were taking a train from Naples to Venice--then that's a waste of time, too. Can't you fly from Naples to Venice?

Looks fine. First day Paris will be jet lag recovery, so not much done that day. Is your flight from Venice require a a connection in Europe? If so, flights leave early. But you will have a full day in Venice before you leave.

then that's a waste of time, too. Can't you fly from Naples to Venice?

I'm not so sure on this one. The train from Napoli to Venezia Santa Lucia is 5 hours. For a flight from Naples airport requires arrival arrival at the airport 2 hours ahead to be safe, check bags, go through security, be at the gate 1/2 hour before departure, 1 hour in the air, 1/2 hour to get off the plane and get luggage, 1 hour to get into Venice proper. 4 1/2 hours total. The train has no security lines, and you can get up and walk around, go to the bar/restaurant car. If you buy well in advance, Business/1st class seats are not very expensive.

If you don’t want to see Paris, then fly to the south of France. If you want to see anything of Paris, you need to allow more time, as your first day + will be lost to jet lag.

Venice at that time of year needs a minimum of 2 full days there and ideally 3, otherwise it will be frustrating.

Ideally, you need 3 locations not 4 for your timescale, otherwise you will be spending too long in transit.

Hey Everyone, thanks for your quick replies. So it seems like it would be best for us to fly straight to Nice instead of Paris. There are no direct flights to Nice from Toronto, so that is why I decided on flying into Paris. Is it easy to get around once in Nice? Or would there be a better place to stay centrally? Would it be a good idea to rent a car? Where shall we go to experience the "culture"?

So if we skip Venice for another time, is it too long to stay in Sorrento, or are there other suggestions for us while in Italy? I agree, I don't want to be travelling from place to place alot.

Nice is the transportation hub of the Riviera, but any coastal town with a train station will allow you to move along the coast pretty efficiently. I found Nice's location handy, with some of the places I wanted to see located to to the east and others to the west. You'll need buses or a rental car to get up to the hill towns like Eze and St. Paul-de-Vence.

The Promenade des Anglais in Nice is probably a good place to bike. (I only walked along it.) Perhaps someone here has done some biking in the area. There are lots of hills and narrow roads, so it would be good to have advice from someone who has moved around on two wheels.

Nice also has good markets.

Whether there's any value at all in renting a car really depends on where you stay along the Riviera (and what you do about parking) and what other places you want to see. Traffic in and out of Nice, at least heading west, can be clogged up, but the situation is unpredictable. My attitude would be that I'd rent a car only if I absolutely had to.

I used Rick's "France" guide book for my trip, but others have pointed out that the Riviera book contains a lot more information about southern Framce. A guide book will help you make the best choice of side-trips. There are many attractive places; selecting among them depends on whether your focus is on avoiding other tourists, finding Michelin-starred restaurants, bkinging/hiking, going to art museums, etc.

I would base in Nice for the French Riviera and Sorrento for the Amalfi Coast.
From Nice you can do so many day trips to coastal cities, there was so many to choose from we just did Monaco and Ez, with Monaco by train and Ez by bus. On the way to Monaco the train stopped in so many little beach towns, I just wanted to jump off the train and explore! But we had these dumb tickets to the F1, so we had to continue onto Monaco. Next time I am getting off!
In Sorrento you have so many options, you can take a train and see Pompeii, do ferries to the different towns or hire a private driver for the day.
For me, I would absolutely stay a few days in Paris, you traveled all that way already. Skip Venice and add those two nights onto Paris.

You have an "ideal vacation" in mind but in reality, it's not. May is lousy beach weather and you won't see any locals because they know better. If you want a beach vacation save some money and go to the Caribbean. If you want a great first trip to Europe than don't fixate on the beach because there is so much more to see and do. Paris is worth more than two nights and you won't even be over your jet lag enough to enjoy it, that was my experience the first time. With thirteen nights I wouldn't waste more than one full day for travel and that will be between France and Italy. I'd consider Paris for at least 4 nights and then fly to Venice for 2 nights. Train to Florence for two more nights and then train to Rome. Get Rick's books and start reading.

She didn't say beach but did say near the water, so I'm thinking they are looking more for vacation ambiance rather than toasting their skin. However, this isn't bike riding country unless you are very experienced road bikers, used to narrow mountain roads with a lot of traffic and no shoulders, no sidewalks. Unless there is a bike rental along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice that rents bikes, this isn't like Venice Beach in LA. However, there is a hiking path that goes along the coastline in France.

The other thing, the OP asked me in a pm if it would be smarter to start in Italy. I think so, but due to the tailwinds that blow us east over the Atlantic faster than flying against the wind going west. Don't those flights home always seem longer! Well, they are. So yes, take advantage of the tailwind and start in Italy but fly home from France. That will cut an hour off being stuck in the metal tube coming back.

Hi All, Yes Bets is correct, we aren't picturing laying on a beach, but love to be near the water, which is why we picked south of France and Italy. I like your suggestion of starting in Italy too, I would never have thought of that. Any other suggestions please send them along, I really have no idea and it's been very difficult so far trying to figure it out to be honest. I know the carribean like the back of my hand:)

You are the one who asked about it--your good idea, not mine. But truthfully, another poster here, Janet, often suggests starting at the furthest point.

If you skip Paris, and go directly to Nice, then you could add those days to Venice and have Nice, Sorrento, Venice each with at least 4 nights, and have time at each location to not be "rushed", which you would likely be with 2 nights each in Paris and Venice.

As for biking....
In Paris one of the best things the wife and I have done is a bike tour with Blue Fox tours (formerly Blue Bike). We've also used the Velib bike share system a lot. If you like wine, food and biking, Burgundy can't be beat but there's no beach:). I'm not aware of any good biking opportunities in Italy. Amsterdam on the other hand has tons of places to ride and you'd see plenty of water and sea. Our next trip we plan to do all three again along with England for the first time and it looks like it'll be late May. A bike tour is something I'd even schedule for my first day.

klarmour98,

" There are no direct flights to Nice from Toronto"

Yes there are..... https://www.airtransat.com/en-CA/cheap-flights-from-canada/to-france/toronto-nice?search=flight&flightType=OW&gateway=YYZ-NCE&pax=1-0-0-0

Whether you'll be able to fly with them will depend on your travel dates, since they don't operate flights on that route every day.

If you leave Naples on the list, it will be far easier to take the Curreri Viaggi bus from Naples airport to Sorrento (about €10 per person as I recall).

Good luck with the planning!